Star Ocean: The Last Hope gets earlier release date

by Andrew Yoon on Jan 9th 2009 7:59PM

Star Ocean: The Last Hope dares to go against almost every Square Enix convention. The game is supposedly the last of the franchise, a final fantasy in the Star Ocean universe. The game is being exclusively developed for Xbox 360 and is aiming for an almost-simultaneous worldwide release.

And now, Square Enix is throwing away yet another long-running tradition: delays. Fans have become so accustomed to waiting, and Square Enix has the gall to release this game earlier than expected? Star Ocean: The Last Hope will now appear in the US on February 24th, a full week earlier than previously announced.

Square Enix, we're warning you -- we don't trust your new ways. You stop making ambiguously gendered buckle-wearing heroes, and we won't know you anymore!

Tags: square-enix, star-ocean, star-ocean-4, star-ocean-the-last-hope, Xbox-360

Reader Comments (85)

handle strategy...lol..
that doesnt sound fun.. haha

i havent played many strategy games and that comment alone isnt sounding very inviting...
i do want to try that game though.
i will wait for a $ 30 or so price tag myself..
i still have about 5 games to play that i havent started... lol.. i can wait.

oh and the comment i made was supposed to be a reply to gundam and hyams above. thats why my comment looks out of place. i wouldnt have just stated those things to make my own comment. i was answering some questions above and replied in the wrong place.

persona 4 thats 1 to check out also. i havent played any of the other titles in that series myself. a lot of people seem to really enjoy that game.

Point still stands that anyone with who likes RPGs with a PS2 or BC PS3 needs to have Persona 4 ... yesterday ...

Yeah it's (VC) more of a thinking man's RPG. Not just your usual style of turn based combat. It's not an easy game but it is very rewarding (like most things in life) when you do figure out what works best.

The characters in VC are so damn relatable as well which is something most RPGs don't do for me. It's really has it all in terms of a SRPG. It's pretty sad to me that it hasn't sold better because it really is a quality product all the way around.

hawx- yeah so my ps3 that has been sitting in my living room about 1.5 years now is fake?
and the over 14 games i own for my ps3?
cant afford a ps3.. haha.
im doing very well in life financially, thanks for asking.

if you own or rent a home in los angeles, CA area chances are you will run into my company once in your lifetime.

hawx ps3 bioshock has sold 300,000 copies so far.
they were better off with just the 360 sales.
btw any game that sells 2.2 million copies is a high success..
what planet do you live on?
most games, even good ones, cant even crack 500,000 anymore.

hawx you are really stupid when you say" they only sold 2.2 million copies of bioshock"

you need to take a finance class in school bud.

2.2 million x $ 60 or even $ 40 = how much ?

releasing the game on 1 platform was less of a risk.
after the high success of the game it was brought to the ps3 to gather even more profit.
not because the game had to goto the ps3.
you realize bioshock 2 was in development for the 360 before the ps3 verions of bioshock was released or thought of??

so why would 2k make bioshock 2 on the 360 if bioshock 1 failed on the 360?
you are stupid... thanks for calling me names. good night.

Actually, you're both wrong. ^_^

The PS3 only got a port of Bioshock so that they could start building a fanbase for the franchise on the PS3 in time for Bioshock 2's release.

With so little copies sold on the PS3, it's questionable whether or not they ever even made back the porting costs. It'll work out better for them in the long run, though, as it'll boost PS3 Bioshock 2 sales.

Its success on the 360 (and it was a success, by the why - 2 million sales is good for a new IP) had nothing to do with the PS3's eventual port.

How cute of SE to push the release date up to take attention away from the release of Killzone 2. It's like they now work for MS or something. I would love to give this game a play (if I still had a 360) but I wouldn't with the backlog and KZ 2 dropping.

@Hyams

You need to get on that Eternal Sonata for your RPG fix. It's a damn good game. Disgaea AOJ is also good and I think that Folklore is an underrated title.

folklore can be had for $ 10 now at CC and other places..
i didnt buy it for some reason though... didnt know what to expect....

Don't expect anything revolutionary out of it. It has allot of DLC that can expand the gameplay and some interesting dynamics I won't spoil for you. It's a solid game and certainly when you consider the lack of RPGs on the PS3 in general. If you can get it for $10 you should jump all over it. Especially if you payed for that abomination Too Human - ewwwww.

i liked too human... lol..
damn you just called me out and now i have to buy folklore..
u played too human right?

btw im reading my psn mag that came in the mail.. yes i still read mag'.. lol.. so ancient these days..
but the killzone 2 spread is nice and informative.
the skirmish (bot) mode sounds great.
cool that you can play 4 different game types using bots, instead of just horde in gears.

my only complaint is lack of co-op, which they are not saying much about..
it says well we werent able to play with co-op, which might mean its coming later.

killzone may be the best FPS in 2009 if it wasnt for modern warfare 2, that will be a close race IMO.

Yeah I got a copy of Too Human for about $20 on Amazon 2-3 months ago. I thought the game was just pathetic. It was just lame in every sense of the word and the death scene with the angle thing was what ... 30 minutes long ... not really I know. I can't tell you how many of the same stupid ass robots I killed in the same empty hallways. It had to be the most repetitive game I have ever played in my life. Not to mention it wasn't much of an RPG or much of an action game. I just thought it failed in every way possible especially considering it took a billion years to develop across 500 platforms.

Speaking of Killzone 2 - The game is out of this world. I got to play a few multiplayer matches when my friend was in the Beta. I'm not even kidding with you man it's out of this world good. So good that I went out today and pre-ordered a copy to get the early demo. They give you a little scratch off ticket at Gamestop if you pre-order it. I'll probably just cancel my pre-order since I am a Rewards Zone Silver member and prefer getting paid money to buy things. The only thing GS is good for is getting older and more obscure titles. Anyway, the KZ 2 demo goes live on FEB 2nd if you go and pre-order.

Truth be told 90% of my gaming is done on the PS3 and probably 50% of that gaming comes from downloadable titles on the PSN. These games are like what full retail releases were in the Nintendo/Sega era.

Pretty much all I use my Wii for is playing those classic titles which cost from $5-$15 bucks a piece.

I have a ton of PS3 games (bought all my multi-platforms there) and I probably have another 30 downloadable titles.

You know what's funny is that I didn't start this generation a fanboy of any system. I bought the 360 at launch (probably 10 hours I waited in the cold) and even had to buy a core model and HDD. I really liked the system for a while but I thought most of the games sucked until Gears dropped. For whatever reason I just never got into the games and I bought allot of them. No soon after the console failures started happening. Couting RRODs, disc-read errors and wrong DVD drives in refurbished consoles I had a total of 6 console failures. If that happened to you - you might feel like I do.

For whatever reason (probably because I am a gizmo gadget technophile) I have just loved the PS3 in every way possible. I'm not hard to please when it comes to games and the PS3 & Wii give me all I need honestly. I even thinkt he Wii has more games on it that I like than the 360. I have just never understood it when people say it has all these amazing games. I must be missing something because most of them just don't appeal to me. Not to mention that I really loathe the sight of an 360.

i am one of the few that enjoyed too human.
most people agree with you.
i think im going to get the killzone demo code this weekend, i usually keep the $ 5 credit for a used game purchase later on. your right thats about all GS is good for. unless you really want their pre-order or game bundle package and have to buy the game to receive it.

if i do it would be fun to play online when it comes out, especially with our history. great if we were on different teams first to settle the battle once and for all.. j/k.. id probably lose.. it would be very new to me.

as time goes on things are starting to fall in a good way for sony ps3 owners, its going to get very hard to talk any crap about it soon without reflecting on past sony mistakes.
i saw today on joystiq that socom has been patched, maybe that will fix the remaining issues.
i might kick myself later for not buying socom bundle on amazon.com for $ 40 not long ago. i did have it in my cart too but was too skeptical then.

Confrontation is another underrated game IMO. After this newest patch it plays completely bug free - damn near perfect. I can't complain as it's addictive as hell to play.

I will tell you the most underrated game of 2008 - Battlefield Bad Company. That game has given me and my brother some good times. If you missed I would recommend picking it up.

You know you can just cancel the pre-order and get your money back don't you?

If you pay with a CC they just put it back there or if it was cash they refund you so long as you have the sales ticket. If you lose it they can look it up and give you store credit.

gamestop really pisses me off ... don't get me started. It's like they know some people will trade in a game a few days after it releases. That's why they never have the games new unless it's 1. a big title or 2. you pre-ordered. Not to mention it helps their interest free loans AKA "pre-orders". Thank's for the useless pre-order junk BTW. What kind of an adult want's a Ryu headband for pre-ordering SF IV? That's for the kiddies.

I've got Folklore. It's a cool game too. =)

if my 360 failed 6 times i might not want to own it anymore either. Ive had RROD 1 time and it was not a bad process. I also did not buy a launch 360 like you did, so i was more lucky. you put a lot of effort into the system.
i havent enjoyed many if any pre gears 1 release 360 games either... they have gotten much better over the years though.
many of the 360 games i enjoy have been released after 2007.

the ps3's main killer this gen was its own console, the ps2. they support their products maybe more than any other major corp in the world. betamax was supported for many years after financial losses first occured. they do have their magic 10 year plan, and that may have gotten in the way of releasing the ps3 alongside the 360.
the 360 released when it did probably because they terminated the original xbox support very early.

we do have 3 consoles though that may profit by the end of the gen which would be a first and great for us all, no matter how much we may also hate the wii.

i know i can trash the ps3 but its usually about the past and mistakes i think they have made.

yeah although it does happen it is pretty safe to own a ps3 and the tech received for the price paid was great too.
thanks sony for that.
considering a comparable stand alone blu ray player in 2006 was retailing for $ 600 which was still inferior to the ps3 blu ray player alone.
i will never regret my ps3 purchase, nor my 360 one.
but i can totally see why you regretted your 360 purchase.
its a shame though that faulty hardware has ruined some experiences.

You know I really like the Wii allot. I used to hate because I wanted it to be an HD console but once I accepted it for what it was - a casual console - I started enjoying it much more.

If you don't mind wetting yourself before bed check these CES Killzone 2 videos. It really looks (and plays) like the best FPS ever made. Have to get lots of hands on before I can go that far but it is off the chain.

http://www.ps3fanboy.com/2009/01/09/killzone-2-videos-are-in-your-eyes-now/

The sad part is I know I had really bad luck with the 360. It didn't make me feel better but I understood most people only had 1 RROD.

oh and johnny i heard from CES that halo wars is releasing on feb 28th. that IMO is ms releasing a big game alongside killzone 2. i dont think star ocean though.

yeah the HD means little when it comes to gaming, but its great too. i am starting to enjoy my new DS a lot.
nintendo has def got something right this gen.

and the HD res killzone 2 videos are amazing, some developers are really getting things right on the ps3 and showing what can be done.

where's the only on xbox sticker?

Gundam i really dont understand why you dont want PS3 to have this so bad (or for it to get anything good for that matter) but whatever. im a big Sony fan and PS3 owner but i recently caved and bought a 360 because of their strong JRPG line up and this is just another feather in the cap. the few JRPG's the PS3 does have are just not my type (most are strategy type which i dont like). i'll probably end up getting this on 360 regardless of if it comes to PS3 or not because i dont really want to wait for them to have to port it and translate it (which i know takes SE forever).

either way, i've never played Star Ocean before, but i've heard alot of good things. oh and i think i'll be picking up Lost Oddessy as soon as i finish Tales of Vesperia and Blue Dragon. everyone seems to think it's the second coming so i gotta try it for myself.

Hey Andrew, shouldn't you correct the bit about Star Ocean 4 being an exclusive for the 360? The box covers for both the Japanese and US version don't have the 'Only on Xbox' logo, so Star Ocean 4 is most likely a timed exclusive with a PS3 version following later. Infinite Undiscovery is so far the only confirmed Square Enix 360 game that really is an exclusive game. (It's the only game with the logo) Last Remnant and Star Ocean 4 are therefore timed exclusives.

The instruction booklets for Infinite Undiscovery and Last Remnant both have ads for SO4 with ONLY ON XBOX360 stamped on them so don't be so sure.

I've got the European editions of LR and IU. There are no ads for SO4 in the instruction booklets.

Squeenix has made quite a few titles for the 360 recently, not so much for the PS3.

I'm not sure why.

My guess for the push up is so they can focus more marketing dollars on DQIX in Japan, which comes out 2 weeks after this new release date.

the cover has a phantasy star 4 vibe

"almost-simultaneous worldwide release" but there's still not even a mention of the European release?

I've never played the other games in the series, and I'm not particularly fond of the anime character designs here, but a sci-fi RPG where you get to fly around in a big space ship definitely has my interest.

As lame as I think the actual game will be... That is some bad ass cover art.

Yeah, that cover art is only rivaled in excellence by sci-fi book cover art from the 80's. I can imagine a kid going into the store, seeing it and saying, "WOW! It's got a spaceship, planets, and a huge faceless guy/girl with a badass sword! I'm gonna buy it! AWSOME!"

and dont get so worked up whether or not the box says "only on xbox 360". that doesnt matter anyway.

i just looked at my bioshock box art and the box says " only on xbox 360 and windows". that game went to the ps3 eventually.

whether or not it says "only on xbox", any game can end up on another platform, from the bioshock example.

I'm happy it's on 360 cause I don't have a PS3, but I can't believe SE is making it 360 only (even if it may be released on PS3 later), between this and the announcement that FF will be on 360 too, is SE hinting at jumping onto the 360 bandwagon? Now we just need them to announce a FF7 remake on 360 only and fanboys across the globe will proceed to riot in the streets...

I, myself would prefer to play Star Ocean 4 and FFXIII on the PS3 because I am simply more used to rpgs on the Playstation consoles, but I would not be disappointed or offended if it were to go multi-platform - even on the Wii, though I'd personally hate to play it on that with the graphical downgrade.

But, until I get a PS3, I'll just have to be content with the goodness that is Star Ocean 2....

Previous 50 Comments

Star Ocean: The Last Hope gets earlier release date

Reader Comments (85)

Posted: Jan 9th 2009 11:05PM sk8monroe81 said

Posted: Jan 9th 2009 11:07PM sk8monroe81 said

Posted: Jan 9th 2009 11:12PM Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell said

Posted: Jan 9th 2009 11:20PM sk8monroe81 said

Posted: Jan 9th 2009 11:24PM sk8monroe81 said

Posted: Jan 10th 2009 4:48PM Hyams said

Posted: Jan 9th 2009 10:56PM Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell said

Posted: Jan 9th 2009 11:07PM sk8monroe81 said

Posted: Jan 9th 2009 11:15PM Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell said

Posted: Jan 9th 2009 11:26PM sk8monroe81 said

Posted: Jan 9th 2009 11:30PM sk8monroe81 said

Posted: Jan 9th 2009 11:38PM Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell said

Posted: Jan 9th 2009 11:50PM Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell said

Posted: Jan 9th 2009 11:58PM sk8monroe81 said

Posted: Jan 10th 2009 12:02AM Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell said

Posted: Jan 10th 2009 12:06AM Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell said

Posted: Jan 10th 2009 9:32AM Hyams said

Posted: Jan 10th 2009 12:12AM sk8monroe81 said

Posted: Jan 10th 2009 12:22AM Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell said

Posted: Jan 10th 2009 12:23AM Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell said

Posted: Jan 10th 2009 12:50AM sk8monroe81 said

Posted: Jan 10th 2009 1:23AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 10th 2009 2:19AM SoCoolCurt said

Posted: Jan 10th 2009 4:45AM ymmv said

Posted: Jan 10th 2009 3:06PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 10th 2009 5:03PM ymmv said

Posted: Jan 10th 2009 4:49AM Giroro said

Posted: Jan 10th 2009 5:38AM KingBroly said

Posted: Jan 10th 2009 6:53AM juju187 said

Posted: Jan 10th 2009 7:24AM Snowblind said

Posted: Jan 10th 2009 8:25AM Emophia said

Posted: Jan 10th 2009 10:53AM Brendan H said

Posted: Jan 10th 2009 4:43PM sk8monroe81 said

Posted: Jan 10th 2009 5:12PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 30th 2009 2:20AM (Unverified) said

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